Muddy Waters 渾水
by Hometown Smile
Summary: Some like the cracking of firewood when its slowly burning away in the night. Others enjoy the smell of salty water on an islands shore. Saanvi desires the cracking sound of earth and rolled up dust as she walked over the concrete. And even more she desires to fly through the air on a gigantic bison, alongside her sister and a young boy who could possibly save the world.
1. Prologue

A layer of peace and silence raised over the large mansion of the Beifong family. The only sound to be heard were the birds chirping and the rustle of leaves in the trees, as the wind blew right through them. Every now and then the silence was interrupted with short and rapid breathing before it proceeded to a healthy human pace again.

"You're doing great, Toph." Said girl was sitting cross-legged across from her teacher Yu, keeping her eyes closed, seeming to focus on her steady breathing. The praise never got to her. Or at least not the way it was intended to. Toph may appear concentrated to someone else's eye, but the willing twitch of her left eyebrow was telling a different story.

"Now, go fast again until I say stop. Then you will inhale through your nose slowly and exhale at the same moderate pace through your mouth. Understood?" The black haired girl gave a short nod. On commando, she started breathing faster again, following the instructions being sad previously by her teacher.

These breathing practices were supposed to be remarkably helpful against stress and good for the seeking of relaxation. But personally thinking, there were lots of things of more importance. And this ragged 'marathon-breathing' just made me laugh. Literally.

Master Yu opened one eye to glance sideways to my comfortable form laying in the soft grass just a bit away from the two. Light shakers were running through it, as I tried to restrain my laughter. I actually wasn't supposed to be here, but being in the house with no chores or anything to do was boring. And so the only thing that I had in mind would be entertaining was watching my sister heckle for air. Schadenfreude, oh yes.

"Saanvi, I acknowledge you joining us at your sister's training, but please remain withdrawn. Toph needs to focus on her breathing and that won't be given with you interrupting her." lectured Yu, closing his eye again.

This was so damn boring and I couldn't comprehend how Toph truly managed to stay through this without losing it entirely. Finally - after what seemed like hours - Master Yu ended his exercise and dismissed the smaller girl. Before I could even stand up to say my goodbye, he had already left. I supported myself onto my underarms, pushing my upper body upwards and looked at my sister.

"So, feeling... relaxed?" I asked with a grin on my face.  
"Shut up, Vi."

 _ **AN**_ _: Hey! I know I do have a different story in the making, but I really wanted to publish this one too! I had long thought about it and after many starts, I finally managed to come up with something that should be interesting. This is no Alternative Universe or Reincarnation and follows the exact same storyline as in Canon Avatar (just with the addition of one character - so dialogues and certain scenes will change or be added). Like in my other story I will concentrate on character and relationship building. So this will be kind of slow building. I just prefer it that way. Lastly: I'm not a native English speaker, so please excuse misspellings or any sort of that thing in the going with the story._


	2. 壹 - one

**A/N** : _There is a lot ahead to read! I decided to part the episode here into two parts, mainly it would be just too much and writing fighting scenes is really something I need to get the hang out first. They just seem so powerless when I write them, which might be the case in this chapter and I'm sorry_ about _that._

 _And also to answer to Review I got from a fellow guest. Thank you first off. I hope this chapter answers some of your questions. How she will interact with Team Avatar we will see later on, but for now, I think I have all the necessary things covered. Saanvi is a bender, yes and is older than Toph by four years. Of_ course _, you really couldn't tell much from just the Prologue, but this will hopefully._

 _Alright, enjoy!_

* * *

Waiting is always something so nerve-wracking, especially when you were looking forward to something so particular. Not that this was the first time I would see men fight, with their tank tops clinging tight to their body, drenched in sweat, throwing rocks and people in every direction possible. Considering, they even wore one. Which was never the case? But still, I didn't come here to see the male counterpart shove pebbles around. I came here to watch my sister kick ass!

You know, many people underestimated Toph. And this exactly is what made this entire matter a lot more entertaining. People viewed her as a small, innocent and helpless girl, always requiring someone to chauffeur her around because she was just too dependent.

The best example for that would be our parents. Mom and Dad never had problems with me growing up and being independent since I wasn't held back by a disability that limited me in every daily routine possible. That's why for my younger sibling, everything had been too overwhelming for them. They didn't know much about the whole blindness stuff. Were even more worried than Toph herself. And Toph never wanted to be pitied.

Humans that tend to have sympathy for others and worry about them. Which depends on their relationships with them, their own morals and standards of how to act around other people. Behavior is often reflected to one another and sometimes underlined with: " _What goes around, comes around._ " So generally, they want to help when they meet someone who has trouble locating things or even several other illnesses, handicaps and so on.

Sometimes you call it social immigration. You try to work together with these affected people and attempting to pull them into your local circle with different personalities. And then they show you how to live, how to do this and that with no real independence needed when this is important for one with a hindrance. You need to work with their recourses to make the best out of it. It won't help them nor you if you ignore these. You take the work from their shoulders to do it yourself. No.

Most people with disabilities don't want that. They want social inclusion. To be seen as the human they are, with both strengths and weaknesses. They will always have more needs waiting to be fulfilled, but don't drag them into the circle when they can be in there from the very start.

I always tried to explain to Toph that both of our parents want the best for her even though their actions seemed so humiliating. I also talked to Mom and Dad multiple times, but there was never something I could do other than being glad I wasn't bound to the house every day and night. Sometimes I try to use that as an excuse to take my sister around the city, to catch up and do something together. Neither did the guards or Mom and Dad take that well. _"Our precious daughter can't go out on so crowded streets because even a simple puddle could be dangerous!"_

Yeah, like puddles just turned into ice and you slipped. Dangerous. Oh no, gotta look out for them puddles~

Maybe because I had always been with Toph - acting as her chauffeur - they gave me free entrance to the underground stadium. At first, they didn't want me here. Or my sister. To them we were just little girls trying to find a place in our oh so pretty pink life, wanting to shout to the world that we were all so different. But with every visit, they seemed to care less and gave up altogether.

And after a few months, it just happened to be that Toph herself took part in the tournament herself. And let me tell you: if you think she has always been this good, wipe the idea right out of your head. She may appear confident and believable in her skills now, but beginner's luck wasn't something she had access to. Yet with lots of experience and sneaky training, she got to where she is today.

And all of that made me now sitting in a smelly shabby room, waiting for Tophs round. Even with all these layers of rocks between us and the arena itself, you could hear the aggressive and loud shouting from the audience until here. I wondered if the vibrations came from the impact of rocks or because someone considered people as rocks. And I thought my sister was blind. Hm...

"I hope they beat The Boulders butt out there. Hate that guy. " I complained more to myself than to anyone in this room with me. It was just Toph and me, plus the ladies who would escort Toph to the ring and then pose super feminine, because I don't know.

"You hate like... everything and everyone," Toph spoke up unamused from beside me, picking at her toenails.

"Did you ever listened to him talking?" I asked, ignoring her. "He refers to him in the third person! I would go crazy. How can you not go totally insane?"

"I just don't. It's not worth the time." Toph answered with a shrug, leaning back, using crossed arms behind her head as a support. I would like it to be this simple.

And then we heard the bell ring, symbolizing the end of the second last match. As we got informed - the semifinals were fought by some bulky guy and much to my dislike, The Boulder. Who also won and with that would be my sisters last opponent. The ladies who had been in the back the whole time giggling to themselves happily now on their feet, ready to set on their best smiles. I waved my goodbye when they were about to attach the cap around Tophs shoulders.

The arena again pretty heavily filled with many people. Some nobler than the other, but they all came here for the same reason. If it wasn't for my sister taking part in the Earth Rumble Tournaments, I would most likely be not here. But I can see why people enjoyed it so much, I guess. Would you like to miss out on chubby half-naked guys fighting? Completely not being sarcastic here.

I took my seat in one of the upper rows, next to a guy who wouldn't stop eating and also broke a lot of sweats. It was pretty hot in here and even the cool stone I sat on didn't make it any better. Food and Drinks like in any other attraction were too expensive, or else that would have been my first go.

After the crowd seemed to come down from the previous match, a long-haired male entered the ring, known of the name Xin Fu. He was the host of the tournaments and had once himself fought in these.

"Now, the moment you've all been waiting for. The Boulder versus your champion The Blind Bandit!" he exclaimed enthusiastically, making the crowd go wild. Toph entered the ring and held her belt up high with a stoic face, whilst the two ladies did their posing - as predicted - and disrobed the much smaller girl from her cap such as her belt as they did the introducing.

There was cheering everywhere, the maturity seeming to go for The Blind Bandit.

"-she is going down!" someone from way lower yelled, taking The Boulder's side. This person was rather loud and soon my attention drew to him. With him were two other figures sitting in the front rows, clearly not from around here. Not only did their outfits gave them away but also, who sits in the front rows in Earth Rumble? You had to be pretty stupid for that. I did that mistake once and I will never do it again. One chunk of rock near my face was enough.

Tophs maniac-like laughing jolted myself back out of my thoughts, focusing again on the match in front of me that was just beginning. And here came the intriguing part. I never understood my sister's way of _seeing_. And I would most likely never because I had been given common vision. Though I knew she worked with vibrations emerging from the ground. Which was more complex than it seemed to appear.

The Boulder was about to do his first move, hoisting up one leg after the other to get more momentum that will hit the pavement of the ring with all its might. But even before he had been laying his second foot on the floor, Toph moved gracefully over the floor, barely lifting her feet. She moved forward a slide, arms open. Then she swung her right leg frontal to the floor, slamming her foot onto it harshly. Simultaneously, as her foot contacted the stage, the floor of the arena churned up, making its way straight to her opponent who hadn't yet achieved his first attack. And then everything passed quick. The Boulder got caught in the Shockwave that send off seconds ago, making the force do its last things herself. A perfect rotation later and The Boulder was presenting a perfect split, crying out in pain as something seemed to rip.

Making a chopping motion with her right hand, Toph created three stalagmites who rose out of the ground near the already suffering Boulder, who now was being forced out of the ring by said formed stalagmites. With the enormous power of the Bandits bending, he crashed into one wall beneath the stands, making the crowd yet go wild for the millionth time.

"Your winner, and still the champion, The Blind Bandit!" exclaimed Xin Fu who now moved into the ring from his higher up position.

"Yes! Show them where it hurts!" I shouted, gaining myself a few looks. What? They had been screaming the whole time, why can't I now?

"To make things a little more interesting," Xin Fu continued holding up a green bag, "I'm offering up this sack of gold pieces to anyone who can defeat The Blind Bandit!" No reaction from the crowd. "What? No one dares to face her?" The same spiel again. Xin Fu knew what he's doing and that nobody would enter the ring. The money was him far way to precious for that. Come to think of his face when someone really snatched it from him.

"I will!" It was one guy that sat in the front rows with his other two water tribe-looking friends. Ok, this was surprising. The tournament never took this far, and I really looked forward to some food, not for another fight. The boy wasn't much older than Toph I would say, probably even the same age. And he wore the identical uniform they wore at Master Yus earth bending Academy. Poor guy.

From down the front rows the same guy who had been ' _predicting_ ' Tophs loss, shouted: "Go Aang! Avenge The Boulder!" There again, what was so special about The Boulder that people keep on constantly voting. I hope he didn't bet on him or anything. They lay the prices rather high these days.

"Do people really want to see two little girls fighting out here?" Toph said, gaining an ' _ooooh_ ' from the crowd.  
"I don't really want to fight you. I want to talk to you." Bad Timing Kid, bad timing. Here, we don't talk. Actions speak.

Down to my feet, the loud guy booed with the girl shushing him. Are they related? And what the heck were they doing here? Please don't tell me it was just for the talking.

As the boy in the ring moved - not intending to attack - Toph followed his every move. When he set a foot to the floor, she smirked and created a Shockwave, by stomping her left foot to the ground. Because of that, a large rock rose from the ground right underneath the boy's feet. But he seemed zero affected by it, moving swiftly to his right, landing on the ground.

What was that? Surely not something a normal human can do, nor a bender. At least not an earthbender.

"Somebody's a little light on his feet. What's your fighting name, The Fancy Dancer?" Oh Toph, you had better ones before... The boy just shrugged silly before avoiding another rock rising out of the ground with the same easiness as the first one. At that point, I don't even know anymore what he was doing. Wasn't that cheating?

"Where'd you go?" Toph mumbled to herself, trying to find the boy.  
"Please, wait!"  
"There you are!" She grinned, turning around and raised another rock out of the ground, much bigger this time and pushed it with both her hands to the boy. The said boy just jumped into the air, turned itself around and with two outstretched arms bended the rock backward with a push of air, sending both rock and Toph out of the arena. _What?_

"Hey! The Heck?" I shouted as I stood up, waving my arms around. I wasn't furious, no. But this wasn't fair games, was it? This event was about earthbending, not airbending or whatever that kid had been doing. The water tribe guy looked up at me with confused eyes, but I ignored him, making my way down the rows to the base of the arena. Where are you Toph?

"Whoever you are, just leave me alone." Ah, there. As I arrived down she closed the door behind her with a swift hand motion, leaving the boy who beat her in front of it startled. I had to hold myself together not talking back at him. I wasn't in the mood for fighting now. So I quickly passed by him, stomping my foot lightly on the ground, opening and closing the same door Toph used just seconds ago.

I caught up with my sister in the waiting room, seeing her collecting her stuff. "You alright?" Rhetorical question.

"Do I look alright to you?" she exclaimed, opening her arms, "This guy was cheating out there, I don't know. It's just... ugh!" Toph stomped her feet, making the ground shake.  
"I agree, he was definitely playing some dirty games. I'm sorry."  
"Don't be. Wanna go home?"  
"Please." I sighed.

* * *

We sneaked into the mansion without big noise and got to our rooms. There was still a whole day ahead of us before we would go to bed, which also leads me to the conclusion, that my teacher would come later. He always came later - around dinner time - and the lessons were pretty short. It didn't really bother me. The faster I got this done, the better.

My parents hired me a teacher for my guzheng. I have been playing it for years, but recently never felt like playing. Now it stood dusty in a corner of my room just waiting to be used. And because Mom and Dad thought I wouldn't do anything but lazily lying around, they went for a teacher to keep me at least busy with something.

I always admired multiple instruments and the sound they made. Even as a kid I wished to get to know as many instruments possible. I never got to that point, since I was focusing on guzheng, which is a very traditional device. I loved the sound even though it's really hard to play. Especially with so many strings attached.

For the maturity of the time, I taught myself how to play, wanting to figure it out on my own. I listened more to the sounds and combinations of rhythm rather than learning by notes. It made it all a tad easier and gave me more freedom. So I could bring in own notes and change specific passages or notes up if I thought they didn't fit that well. Or if I just wanted to try something different.

Though I never changed up traditional songs. One of my most favorite pieces was " _Autumn Moon Over the Han Palace_ ". A pity I hadn't played it in so long.

* * *

"-vi,"  
"-anvi," Hm?  
"Saanvi!" A high voice yelled near my ear making me jolt and tear my eyes wide open in shock. When I saw Tophs face in front of mine I sighed hard, laying a hand over my chest and drew my head back.

"Are you crazy..." I mumbled as I tried to cover myself up in comfortable sheets once again.

"I felt someone outside, but I can't go out alone," she said, adjusting the light green sleeves of her rope they tucked into her white dress. Funny how fancy she always walked around the house, whilst I chose against it. I never liked fancy clothing. It was just not worth it, walking around with such a high price on you. That only made me uncomfortable.

"Give me a sec," I sat up, rubbing my eyes. Had I slept for long? I don't even remember laying down. "Wait outside." That gave Toph the signal to leave and me the opportunity to dress up. Or more like to fresh up a bit. My dark hair had loosened out of its hair tie as I slept, making it now seem like a bird's nest. I removed the hair tie and combed through with a thin calm, letting it fall over my shoulders. My hair reached mid back and fell in a neat V-cut. In the front, they framed my heart-shaped face well. Moss green eyes starred tiredly into the mirror whilst exhaling a breath of air. "More sleep, please." I sighed, moving on.

As for clothes, I didn't really care. I stuck to the ones I already wore: A yellow tunic that was about the same length in front such as back, with dark green pants that reached just underneath my knee, secured with an elastic to keep everything in place. Even though by now one side was hanging a bit lower than the other.

"Ready?" I asked my sister as I closed the door behind me, using the frame and her shoulder as a support to put my sandals on.  
"Ready when you are." She said.

* * *

It was still warm outside - the sun still high and not many clouds to see in the sky - when we entered the garden, though not too hot. Just the right temperature.

"So, you felt something?" I recalled, getting back to the reason we came out here. I looked around. There were a few guards wandering around, but no one who seemed like an intruder to me. That is also why Toph used to make a game out of it when we were younger, making me wake in the middle of the night saying something was in the garden when there really was not. I should've guessed because the guards would have known, but I was just too gullible.

"There!" Toph suddenly exclaimed, taking in a stance and turning her feet making the earth rumble somewhere in the garden. Huh? Where? Then I caught sight of who she was sensing. Blue and orange were thrown into the air, a surprising screech wailing after them. We both moved forward to the intruders. As we got closer I groaned. Seriously, what were they doing here? It was the same kids I saw hours ago in the arena. Including the one boy who had beat my sister, now wearing different clothes showing off a big blue arrow on his head that I hadn't noticed before. Wait, these were airbender signs!  
"What are you doing here, twinkle toes?" Toph asked, leaning over the boy's head.  
"Twinkle toes?" I asked confuses but not with the intention to get an actual answer.  
"Don't answer to twinkle toes. It's not manly!" The other guy exclaimed, who I remembered being very emotional back in the arena.  
"You're the one whose bag matches his belt." The only girl in their group exclaimed, not affecting the male with it at all.

"How did you find me?" Toph asked.

"Well, a crazy king told me I had to find an earthbender who listens to the earth. And then I had a vision in a magic swamp and..." Airbending himself to his feet during his speech, getting cut off mid-sentence by the water tribe girl. Rude.

"What Aang is trying to say is, he's the Avatar, and if he doesn't master earthbending soon, he won't be able to defeat the Fire Lord." She said gesturing to 'Aang'.  
"Wait, he's the Avatar? Didn't he vanished like, years ago?" I asked, turning my attention to Aang.  
"He did, but all that matters is that he is here right now and that we need her help." The water tribe girl answered, turning from me to Toph.

"Right," I said slowly. I didn't want to look judging, but this whole situation was just weird. Maybe I really should go to bed again.

"Not my problem. Now get out of here or I'll call the guards." Toph said turning her back.  
"Look, we all have to do our part to win this war. And yours is to teach Aang earthbending." Ponytail guy exclaimed. That sounded like she had nothing better to do than to teach the Avatar how to throw rocks. Not that she really was occupied with anything other than playing the innocent one and the Tournaments, but Toph was intelligent enough to not trust a stranger who just claimed to be someone so important. People made fun over being the Avatar even these days and disrespected the cycle. At some point, nobody believed you anymore.

But there was also this small spark in me, who believed Aang. Anyhow he could airbend and even looked like a nomad. And if you followed back the Avatar cycle, then you knew Air was the next in line.

I must have spaced out for a long time because when I drifted back to reality Aang and his friends weren't here anymore, now with guards crowding the area.

"I thought I heard someone. I got scared." Toph said to one guard, getting a hold on to my hand to emphasize her statement.  
"Please take more care of your sister, Saanvi. There could have been bad things happening." The guard told me, taking one last look around before escorting both of us back inside. I didn't answer that.

* * *

"I'm pleased to hear that Toph's private lessons are going well, but I want to be sure that she's not trying anything too dangerous," Dad said before setting down his fresh tea. Beside him sat Mom and in front of them was Master Yu and my sister. They kept up with this weekly reflexive discussion even though they always came to the same realizing and that nothing really changed. But still; to my parent's eyes, Toph was doing greater than anybody else.

I leaned against the wall near the door, surveying this whole talk.

"Absolutely not. I'm keeping her at the beginner's level. Basic forms and breathing exercises only." Master Yu reassured Dad.  
"Very good."

"Saanvi also does a great job when she is joining us," Master Yu smiled in my direction then back to Mom and Dad. "But she may want to work on her concentration and long-term attention. She keeps spacing out very quickly." Did I?

"I'm sure Saanvi will figure it out. All it takes are regular exercises and meditating and we have that problem solved in no time." Dad said, taking another sip of his tea carefully.

There we go. Whilst Toph always got the help she desperately needed in my family's eyes, I had to figure out everything myself. Not that this was a bad thing, never. That's how one learned through mistakes and its of importance. I wasn't jealous. I was glad nobody crowded on me like they did on my sister. But sometimes I wished for a little more help and support. You can't do everything yourself.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a servant coming in our direction.  
"Excuse me sir, but you have a visitor." He exclaimed bowing slightly.  
"Who thinks they are so important they can just come to my home unannounced?" Dad said angry. Oh yeah, he hated that. I once brought a friend from school over and he was about to throw them out the minute they got in. Because they came unannounced. Yup. It was so embarrassing that I didn't talk to them anymore and when constantly apologized for my Dad's behavior.  
"Uh, the Avatar, sir." The servant answered, uneasiness in his voice.

Not just Toph raised her head at that, but also me. Mom and Dad looked at each other surprised whilst the Servant slowly back up outside. What are you doing Aang?

* * *

Soon we all together sat in the dining room around a long table with many specialties on them. Because Master Yu took his seat beside Mom, I had to sit on the other end of the table, opposite my Dad. Master Yu to my left and that ponytail guy to my right. Who messily scooped rice into his mouth with his chopsticks. There was more rice around his mouth than in I guess.

As it was Tophs time to serve, the Servant brought in a steaming soup freshly made and set it in front of her.  
"Blow on it. It's too hot for her." Dad said to the Servant. I was lazily munching on one of the steamed puns on my plate, looking at my sister. Man, I felt so bad for her.

"Allow me," Aang said from the opposite, swirling his hand slightly creating a small whirlwind into Tophs direction, cooling down her dish. It earned him impressed claps from Mom, Dad, and Master Yu.

"Neat," I said, referring to Aang's bending.  
"Right?" Ponytail guy exclaimed, his mouth still full of rice resulting into some falling out of it and onto the table. I looked at them, back at him, pursed my lips and exhaled loudly through my nose. Can you not...

"Avatar Aang, it's an honor to have you visit us." Mom said happily.  
"In your opinion, how much longer do you think the war will last?" Dad asked curious, looking at Aang with expectant eyes.  
"I'd like to defeat the Fire Lord by the end of summer, but," Aang looked at Toph, "I can't do that without finding an earthbending teacher first."

"Well, Master Yu is the finest teacher in the land. He's been teaching Toph since she was little." He gestured to the said man who still patted a napkin around his mouth.  
"Then she must be a great earthbender, probably good enough to teach someone else," Aang said and jolted up into the air a bit. "Ow!"  
I raised an eyebrow looking around the table.

"Toph is still learning the basics." Master Yu said with a raised eyebrow.  
"Yes, and sadly because of her blindness, I don't think she will ever become a true master." Aang shared looks with his friends, setting me off alert. _Don't_.  
"Oh, I'm sure she's better than you think she is." With a fast rock of his chair, Aangs face planted straight into his soup. I snorted and straightened up high when Toph made a face at me.

The Airbender freed himself from the bowl, wipes the soup from his face with his hands, looking annoyed. Then his face scrunched up and a powerful sneeze escaped him, right to the other side of the table where all victims (Master Yu, Mom, and Toph) were now covered in soup. Some even landed on the wall behind them, leaving heavy stains behind. What was going on here?

Toph got up from her seat, slamming her hands on the table.  
"What's your problem?"  
"What's _your_ problem?" Aang retorted, standing the same way Toph did.  
Then both glaring at each other whilst Dad looked from his daughter back to the Avatar completely confused. And so was I.  
"Well, shall we move to the living room for dessert then?" Mom asked, after wiping the soup off of her. The table was a mess and there was no way, you could eat here still. So living room it was.

* * *

As dessert was being served, no one really talked. This time I sat next to Toph, having her a bit under my wings. The atmosphere was quiet, but you could feel the tension between Aang and Toph. After dessert they were told to stay the night by Mom and that they could use the living room as their sleeping place. Toph got up to clean herself and change into her nightgown, whilst I helped with the dishes.

Just as I was about to go to my room to do the same, I passed by Toph who stand in the door of the living room, filled with the others.  
"Let's call a truce, ok?" Toph offered and Aang relaxed from his fighting stance, whatever had resulted in that.  
"Wanna go for a walk?" She asked the boy, who nodded. And then they left, leaving me behind with the Water Tribe pack.

They both looked at me as expectant as I did. And then I saw _it_.  
"Holy, what is that?" I exclaimed, dropping my clothes that hung over my forearm, running to the big window in the room where a giant furry head was popping in. As I got closer my steps slowed down. I didn't want it to back away or anything.  
"That's Aang's flying bison, Appa," The girl said.  
A flying, what?  
"You can pet him." She smiled and I held an outstretched arm into 'Appas' direction. When I was close enough, I felt hot air on my hand as he sniffed on it. Then with steadiness and holding my breath, I patted his nose, swiping over its textures.  
"Wow, that is amazing," I said astonished, backing off.  
"You have to see him fly. That's the best thing ever." The girl said dreamily.  
"I can imagine."

There was silence in the room for a moment, interrupted by the boy.  
"Hey, who are you anyway?" He asked me.  
"Huh? Aren't _I_ supposed to ask _you_ that question? I mean you came into my house."  
"Oh, I'm sorry," The Water Tribe girl exclaimed, shaking her head, "I'm Katara. This is my brother Sokka." Katara said.  
"Nice to meet you, I'm Saanvi." I introduced myself.  
"Likewise," Katara answered.  
"So you were the girl who constantly groaned during the match with Aang," Ponytail guy now known as Sokka said.  
"Hey! I wasn't groaning the whole time. Plus your friend disrespected the rules. You aren't supposed to airbend in an earthbending tournament." I defended myself.

I sat myself down on one of the red pillows in the room, playing with the bundles on the edges. This was awkward. I had always been bad at starting conversations. Then a hand waved in front of me and I looked up.  
"What are you doing?" I asked Sokka confused, grabbing him by the wrist.  
"Checking if you're blind too?" He said uncertain and freed himself out of my grasp.  
"That's rude you know? You can't just do that," I told him sternly. "But if this calms you, I'm not." Sokka nodded. I looked around the room not really sure of what to do, to spot another white furry thing on the couch the Water Tribe siblings sat on.  
"Just how many animals do you have?" I asked, pointing a finger at it. Mom will freak if she sees any hair.  
"That would be the last one," Sokka said "Momo."  
"He's a lemur," Katara added.  
"Ah..." Because making a sound was better than nothing?

We opened up the more as we talked. I found out that both of them were from Southern Water Tribe and they had discovered Aang and Appa in an iceberg as they went fishing.  
"That's crazy," I said with awe. Then Sokka explained how Appa sneezed on him, that the kids in their village didn't want to 'play' soldier anymore and that his watchtower got destroyed. All Aangs fault of course.  
They also visited a lot of cities. Like Omashu or Kiyoshi Island. I heard of these before but was never there personally. But apparently they both are really pretty and they had lots of fun.

"So, are you and Toph related or anything?" Katara asked and even Sokka was curious by now.  
"She's my younger sister. So, yeah." They both nodded.  
"I feel bad for her and the way she is treated, but we can't just tell our parents "Hey, your daughter is a champion in an underground earthbending tourna-" I cut myself off as one guard hurried inside the living room.  
"Someone took Toph and the Avatar!" He shouted, moving away again.  
I instantly was at my feet and followed him outside, Katara and Sokka trailing closely behind. Fuck.

* * *

We all stood outside in the garden observing two flat areas in the grass where something big and heavy left an indent.

"Whoever took Aang and Toph left this," Sokka said, picking up a sword that had a scroll stuck on its blade. He lifted the sword in Katara's direction who took the scroll off of the blade.  
"" _If you want to see your daughter again, bring 500 gold pieces to the arena._ " It's signed " _Xin Fu and The Boulder._ "" She read out loud.

I hated myself for not reacting too fast. We were having a nice little chit-chat whilst they took my sister hostage.  
"I can't believe it," Me too Sokka, me too.  
"I have the Boulder's autograph!" He then screamed and took the scroll out of his sister's hands. I stomped my foot lightly to the ground as a small rock lifted itself with the force of it, only to be thrown at Sokka's temple.  
"Ow!" He cried in pain, letting the letter drop to rub his hurting temple.

"Master Yu, I need you to help get my daughter back," Dad said.  
"We're going with you," Katara said, turning to Master Yu.  
"Me too," I said standing next to the Water Tribe girl. The look in my father's eyes told me otherwise, but there was nothing he could do. I am not staying here when my sister is in possible danger. I know Toph can do lots herself, but sorry sweetie, I am not having any of this crap today.

"Poor Toph. She must be so scared." Mom said as she knelt to the dents in the grass.

* * *

 **EXTRA**

 _It was dark outside, the sun went down hours ago revealing the moon in the dark night sky. Aang walked beside Toph on the bridge, whilst she balanced herself on the guardrail._

 _"Even though I was born blind, I've never had a problem seeing." Toph started, jumping to the ground as the guardrail ends "I see with earthbending. It's kind of like seeing with my feet. I can feel the vibrations in the earth, and I can see where everything is. You, that tree, even those ants."_  
 _"That's amazing," Aang said looking around to find the ants himself._  
 _"My parents don't understand. They've always treated me like I was helpless." She stated frustrated looking down._  
 _"Is that why you became The Blind Bandit?" Aang asked._  
 _"Yeah," Toph agreed. "The only person who supported me from the beginning is Vi. She doesn't see the blind Toph, she sees Toph. The real me with no Mask attached. But that still doesn't make things better."_  
 _"Then why stay here where you're not happy?" The bald boy asked._  
 _"They're my parents. My sister. Where else am I supposed to go? I can't just leave them behind." Toph said._  
 _Aang smiled, "You could come with us. You can take your sister too if you want."_  
 _"Yeah. You guys get to go wherever you want. No one telling you what to do, that's the life. It's just not my life. I guess Vi would enjoy traveling around, she is bored around here anyway. And is interrupting my training every time." Toph said sarcastically._


	3. 貳 - two

_**A/N**_ _:_ _Attention(!): Bad fighting scenes ahead! Read at own risk!_

* * *

For the last time tonight I stepped into the mansion and immediately strived for my room. Outside the night sky already revealed a beautiful dark blue canvas with white sprinklers all over it, and we would most likely not be back before midnight or even later. The nightgown I had dropped earlier this evening still laid there untouched in front of the living room. Now these were not of interest, correspondingly leaving them on said place. They would have done the same in my bedroom; getting thrown in no specific corner in my room and lay there until I had the leisure to put them where they belonged. As I entered my room, I made no effort to put the lights on, relied solely on the ones in the hallway. I knew we would fight and there was no way around it, especially with the Avatar they held in their hands. Aang would make a good price and they would without a doubt take advantage of that. But still, 500 gold pieces for Xin Fu who had someone so powerful in their toll, was a really cheap price. Suspicious.

I never walked bare-footed around, always having something on my shoes unless I was home. To connect better to and through the earth, earthbenders who served their country mostly walked without shoes on, which gave them more stability and surface to work with. And that whole ' _I don't like barefoot_ ' thing being said, I kept only one pair of shoes I used during training and practice fighting. Even though they didn't give me too any direct contact with the earth - what would be the best option - their soles were thin and still did a reliable good job. However, still better than nothing.

I took the shoes from one of the upper shelves and pulled them over my feet. They were slightly dusty and the usual dark brown leather had a gray tint to them.

* * *

"And where is this arena exactly?" Dad asked as I came back together with the rest of the group. During my absence, everyone had prepared themselves well and even an escort in form of a horse-drawn carriage was ready for the takeoff. Not that we needed that; the arena wasn't far away from her and easily reached by just foot with no problems. However, with the carriage moving faster than we could in running speed, choosing a carriage had been the best option we ordered.

"Alongside the river is a small empty warehouse. I'm not sure if we can easily enter it since it's always guarded, but in the basement is the arena." I explained. It always fascinated most people that went to a match for the first time or at least saw the location itself, how something so small could look so big. The arena wasn't built with just bare hands of normal civilists - many benders had made their marks too.

Dad nodded to the chauffeur who redirected his horses into the right direction and let us get onto the wagon in the back. The ride to the arena was quiet and the only sound you could make out were the crickets chirping through the night. Master Yu and Dad had been exchanging whispering words frequently too, but they were too faint for me to understand. And before I knew what happened, we arrived at our destination.

"We're here, Sir." The chauffeur said and the whole carriage came to a halt. He himself jumped down from his seat in the front to open us the door. With the years passing by the whole front side of the house was now covered in small green leaves, leaving only open some windows and the entrance door. Some areas balder than others.

Quickly we hoped off; first Katara and Sokka, following me and last but not least Master Yu and Dad. I murmured a small ' _thank you_ ' to the chauffeur who nodded in response.

"Wait here, we won't need long," Dad told the man who just drove us here, earning him a bow. I didn't think they would clear this matter in a few minutes, but keep on being positive... I guess.

There was something off here. The entrance door of the warehouse was spread wide open with no guard in sight. Whilst everyone else wandered in with little care, I kept an open ear. Luckily we weren't ambushed and made our way straight for the arena that rose just a few feet underneath us. With the Water Tribe siblings in the front leading the way, gave me the time to cover the back. The lights were high and bright in the arena, letting the rest of the hall fall into a cool dark blue. It got chilly around here and I cursed internally for not bringing something warmer with me. We altogether sprinted the high stairs up into the ring with me in the front this time, skipping steps easily and with familiarity. Being the first to step into the ring I took in my surroundings. With me in the ring were too other familiar figures, both I didn't fail to recognize; Xin Fu and The Boulder. They had their gaze directed to the top and said something I didn't catch. Following their heads, I noticed two metal cases, each one with a small opening in the front, covered with metal sticks to prevent someone from escaping. And I was pretty sure that is where both Toph and Aang were trapped in. Those bastards.

"Toph!" Dad shouted who took his place aside me, now arriving at the tops too with the rest of the group. Both of the males' attention went to us. Why couldn't I just punch them in the face? What was keeping me from that? Right, nothing. But I couldn't act so recklessly, not when there was so much important involved here.

"Here's your money. Now let them go." Sokka said, dropping the green bag with the said price in it on the floor. Master Yu took a stance, slapping his bare feet to the floor, sending the bag to the other side of the ring, right before Xin Fu's feet. Said man lifted the sack up, checking its content. It didn't take him long and when he was pleased with what he saw, Xin Fu turned around, waving to someone in that direction, letting one of the two metal cases down slowly with care. When it just hovered over the ground, a kind of shutter opened and Toph fell down out of the metal case, making her way towards us running.

Dad put a hand on Tophs shoulder as she arrived, leading her away and out of the ring. Toph got a hold of my thumb, signalizing me to follow. And I did, but I felt so unbelievingly bad. I followed but shrieked back when I heard a loud rumble from the ring. The other participants from the tournaments I hadn't really cared about before, were lining up together. There was Hippo, two guys with masks and even this weird Fire Nation guy. So, they're in cahoots together or what?

"Go. I'll be okay." Aang reassured from the tops and both the Water Tribe siblings backed off worried.

I was having a dilemma right here. On one hand, I really wanted to fight to get Aang back. Not because I depended on him, but I knew Katara and Sokka were. They were his friends and even in such a short period had done so much together. It kind of felt bad to just leave this right here. On the other side, I was too afraid to blow up our cover and wanted to go with Toph. In the end, I left. I trailed directly after Master Yu, gaze to his feet and following his every step. Why did everything had to be so complicated?

Then I stopped. No. "Wait," I called, making Dad, Toph, and Master Yu stop. I bit my lip. "Sorry, but I can't leave. These are not my friends, no, yet I know that the Avatar is important to them a-"

"Saanvi, I really envy that you are always this caring, but please listen. They caused us so much trouble. They took Toph because of them! Don't you understand the situation?" Dad interrupted me.

"I do! It's just... it's like leaving a comrade behind. It feels wrong.." I mumbled the last part, head hanging low.

"And what do you think? Can you take them out alone? I don't doubt your bending skills, Saanvi. But don't get ahead of yourself, you are being restless." Shut up!

"She doesn't have to, we fight too," Katara suddenly exclaimed from behind me, making me turn around. "But we need an earthbender. Maybe even two." She added with a smile towards me.

"My daughter is blind," Dad said angrily, "She is blind and helpless and fragile. She cannot help you. And so can't Saanvi. Don't get them more involved into this than they're already." And with that, he was about to turn around and leave. But Toph snatched her hand out of Dads.

"Yes. I can," Toph said, confidence in her voice "And if I can do it, Vi can do it even better." Please, don't make me cry in front of everyone, you idiot. Dad just looked shocked at his youngest daughter as she talked back at him and left to go with Katara and Sokka. My heart was still beating fast with anger, but I couldn't get the ' _sorry_ ' out of my throat.

* * *

We arrived in the ring just in time as Xin Fu lead the group out of the ring towards the stairs. The big guy - Hippo - had the metal case with Aang inside supported onto his shoulder, carrying it around like nothing. Toph made a step forward, moving her feet and created a wall of jagged rock in front of Xin Fu's group. She stood in between Katara and Sokka with me standing next to the Water Tribe girl.

"Let him go," Toph pointed to into Hippos direction, "I beat you all before, and I'll do it again."

"The Boulder takes issue with that comment." Boulder pointed out, rising a finger at us or specifically Toph. Please hold me or else I'm gonna freak.

Hippo then threw away the metal case to the side, earning hurtful sounds from Aang. What do you expect when you just throw someone in a metal case around? That they are all fine and happy? I don't think so. I went into a defensive stance, whilst Katara and Sokka were about to run off in Aangs direction. Toph spread her arms, making them both halt.

"Wait." The others started running towards us and I saw the siblings get slightly uneasy.

"Just wait," I told them with a cool undertone in my voice.

"They're mine," Toph said, turning her head back.

"Sorry, but today I think you have to share," I told her with a grin and took a stance sideways, arms angled and slowly rising upwards. The earth underneath rumbled and when they were in immediate closenesses, I rose up an earth wall from the floor, launching just a bit forward with it at my side and made it move like a wave towards Xin Fu and his group, swinging it to the right to cut their way off to us. The Water Tribe siblings used this opportunity to free Aang, who now was on our side of the mid-high wall that rose in the middle of the ring. I tried to hold the wall longer, but it just took to much effort when from the other side multiple people tried to take it down.

"Hurry up!" I shouted in their direction, sweat running down my temples. Sokka took one of the rooks that had emitted from the ground and slammed it onto the metal, clirring sounds filling the arena.

"Hit it harder!" Aang said distressed, whilst Katara tried to open it with the sheer force of her own bare hands.  
"I'm trying!" Sokka retorted.

I grunted, trying to readjust my feet but I couldn't let go of the ground. That was the problem with earthbending. It bound you to the earth at any costs and made you less flexible. You had to stay your ground continuously. The wall cracked up and there was no way I could hold it any longer. Toph the whole time prepared herself, finally slammed a foot and curled up hand forward and with the incoming Shockwave, my wall blasted away, with its force taking the others and me to the ground. A big cloud of heavy dust filled the other side of the ring, not attempting to fade away soon.

Toph made her way slowly into the dust cloud. I stayed back for one simple reason; when it came to sensing through vibrations and listening, completely being on neutral jing, Toph is the best bet you can have. With me in that cloud, I would end up losing badly. I don't really know how to work with vibrations - I can sense them to some extent, but can't actually use them to my advantage. And I relied more on my eyes than I did on my ears. With my vision being blocked like that, I'm screwed.

From inside the cloud, you could hear the fighting, rocks were thrown around, rumbles of earth making the ground shake. I knew that my sister had everything under control because here and then you could hear someone screaming and soon crashing heavily into the ground or the walls around. No worries here. So back to the actual problem; Aang in the metal case. Katara and Sokka didn't really achieve much. There were dents all over the upper metal side where its gray color chipped off. Katara's fingers slightly bled and Aang just looked extremely uncomfortable.

"Step aside." I told them then turned to Aang, "Could get a little tight in there." He nodded in response.

I didn't have super strength, but I had enough for this metal bar to crack even if it left a big tent. Aang didn't take all the space in its room and would most likely be not affected by it at all. So I took a steady stance, stabled myself, and slapped my right foot on the floor whilst my arm lunged forward, rising a spear out the ground behind me, and slammed it down onto the metal bar. It cracked and when I lifted the not so big spear up to throw it aside, you could see a pointed tent. Like I predicted, it took some space but Aang managed his escape through the now open shutter at the bottom just fine.

"Thanks," Aang said. No prob, kid.

Out of the smoke ran Hippo with a cry, holding up a large earth plate with his hands. Shortly after him followed The Boulder who rolled his way forcefully out. I took the same spear I had created just a few seconds ago and tossed it with all my strength and with the help of earthbending into the hole of the earth plate Hippo was holding, sending him directly into a nearby wall, knocking him out. I grinned to myself. _Hole in one!_

And whilst I did my part, Toph also successfully took down The Boulder and this other mask guy, throwing them out of the ring with a simple handshake. Her still raised arms bend down slowly and at the end swifter, making the cloud fade away to the sides of the ring.

But nothing was won just yet. There was still Xin Fu on the other side, cracking his neck angrily. He took a stance as Toph spat to the floor. Disgusting, girl. Toph took the same defensive stance, and the circled around the much larger earth plate in the middle of the ring, nobody daring to attack. Only moments later, Xin Fu was the first to launch an attack. He aggressively raised rocks from the ground, swirling around, always heaving up from the ground just a little. Toph blocked all of these by creating two shards of earth that connected together like a tent. Then one shard was punched at Xin Fu, sliding over the floor. He dodged, jumping sideways, hand slightly dissolve into the ground, rising it up moments later with a cry and made rocks launch into Tophs direction. Who simply took a step aside, dodging them. With a last movement of Toph's hand, she slammed it to the ground and I couldn't even look that fast, Xin Fu was out of the ring, slammed right in between Dad and Master Yu who both jolted.

"Yes!" I screamed and ran to Toph, Aang and Katara following closely.

* * *

We came back home an hour after midnight, dismissing the chauffeur and thank him for his service. Mom was at the entrance, taking Toph and me into a tight hug, crying into our shoulders. I patted her back slightly not sure of what do exactly. I was exhausted, tired, just wanted to sleep.

"We meet in the meeting room, immediately." Dad hissed at us and took his leave.

"Hey guys, thank you again for saving me," Aang said, feet nervously shuffling on the ground. "And sorry for causing you trouble."

"It's fine really, no big deal. I can handle some extra chores." I said with a smile. "Not that I have to do anything else or anything." I grinned sheepishly and looked at Toph who stood a bit away from us.

"I think I'm gonna tell them, they'll ask either way." She said, head low.

"I'll be there with you," I reassured her, guiding her and the rest of us inside. We put off our shoes in the gekan and Yogam - our servant - lead us all to the meeting room. We all sat opposite Dad and Mom, whilst Toph stood in the middle of the room, the center of attention. Dad exchanged a few gazes with me, trying to get someone to talk in this so quiet room. Then, Toph eventually started.

"Dad, I know it's hard for you to see me this way, but the obedient little helpless blind girl that you think I am just isn't me. I love fighting. I love being an earthbender. And I'm really, really good at it." Toph started with confidence, smiling to herself, "I know we kept my life secret from you, but you were keeping me secret from the whole world. You were doing it to protect me. But I'm twelve years old and I've never had a real friend. Vi is always there, but it's not the same." She murmured the last part. I know that wasn't supposed to hurt, but it did anyway. Not in a jealous way, but knowing you're the only person she can trust is a hard thing to tell. "So now that you see who I really am, I hope it doesn't change the way you feel about me."

"Of course it doesn't change the way I feel about you, Toph. It's made me realize something." Dad said softly.

Toph's eyes lit up. "It has?"

"Yes," Dad continued, "I've let you have far too much freedom. From now on, you will be cared for and guarded 24 hours a day. And Saanvi will no longer have permission to escort you around alone." I wanted to cry.

"As for you young lady," Dad turned to me, "You should've told me. I love you Saanvi, but you disappointed me today. I will cut off your training and your homeschooling will have a tighter schedule. And no wandering around the city alone anymore."

I was just about to open my mouth when Dad interrupted again. "Don't talk back to me now, this isn't something light chores like cleaning can justify. I'm sorry." And there, the tears were falling. I rubbed them off instantly. Crying in front of everyone was just humiliating, made me feel weak. There was a calm hand on my lower back, rubbing up and down slowly. I bet it was Katara's.

"We are doing this for your own good." Mom said stern.

"Please escort the Avatar and his friends out. They are no longer welcome here." Dad said with a strict tone in his voice and gestured Yogam to take Aang and the Water Tribe siblings outside. Aang turned his head around.

"I'm sorry." He said sadly.

"I'm sorry, too. Goodbye, Aang." Toph replied with a quivering voice, tears escaping her eyes.

I just waved a silent hand at him, unable to say anything.

* * *

Toph and I were together in my room. I had been pacing up and down whilst Toph played many strings of my guzheng standing in one corner. It had an awfully inharmonic sound to it, but I didn't even care. We weren't here for too long, probably just a few minutes and I had been furious. I wanted to scream and punch something.

"Let's go." Toph suddenly said.

"What?"

"Let's go. Get away from here." She repeated.

"You're okay?"

"Listen, I know you want that as much as I do. Our parents just took the freedom of you too why not just get it back?" Toph exclaimed, turning in her chair.

"And how do you imagine that? Leaving behind everything without an explanation and expect it to turn out good? I don't think that's how it works, Toph."

"Aang made me an offer yesterday. He said I could travel with them, even with you. So why are we still here?" I did get her point. It must be incredible to be this free, do whatever you want and just, _live_.

"Saanvi, please," Toph begged. I didn't know until now how badly she wanted that. I did know that she despised our parents' behavior, but she fought against it multiple times and just lived on. Yet with her being watched every hour, day, and so on, I think it triggered a really sensitive point. She couldn't be herself anymore. The Toph who liked to fight and be able to prove people wrong when they said she was weak. She wouldn't have any of this anymore. Would most likely take breathing exercises every day until the only thing she does it literally breathing.

What did I want? Yes, freedom. But also the feeling of safety. Out there were so many dangers. Here, we could just come back and celebrate not getting hurt. Yeah, what a life. Yet it was one of a human biggest needs and wants. Hierarchy of needs. One of the biggest points would also be boredom. I did nothing these days, other than listening to Toph breathing and taking exercises here and then - now completely shut down of course. Not that fighting was something I wanted to do. Nor was bending necessary to live for me even though I loved it. _I just wanted to do something_. To walk around on different sidewalks as the day passes by and not on the same lame tatami mats.

"And when do we leave?" I asked carefully, looking into my room trying to find a bag.

"Yeah!" Toph exclaimed excited, jumping from the chair and went for the door. "Right now!" Huh?

* * *

We ran through the night after tricking the guards out and made our leave. Toph didn't give me much time to pack and all I really had in my bag was some water, a brush, hair ties, and two or three silver pieces. I found them someplace in my drawer and seriously; I hadn't even known they were there. You couldn't buy yourself a lot with it, but it was a worth a good meal.

"There they are!" Toph said, speeding up with her own bag in her hand.

"Not so fast!" I shouted after her. Tired, got damn tired.

We both panted heavily as we were almost there.

"Toph! And Saanvi! What are you two doing here?" Aang asked confused even though there was a layer of happiness in his voice. Toph came to a rather elegant hold, whilst I almost fell over, arms stemmed onto my thighs. I waved him off, trying to catch my breath.

"Our Dad changed his mind," Toph said, "He said we were free to travel the world." I would be really glad if that had been what he actually said, but Dad was Dad and there was no fun involved.

"Well, we'd better get out of here," Sokka started, "Before your dad changes his mind again." Toph agreed.

"You're gonna be a great teacher, Toph," Aang said. Oh yeah, I had forgotten about this whole teaching thing. Whatever.

"Speaking of which, I want to show you something," Toph said slyly and Aang made his way down. Then Aang landed in a tree, hanging down from there by one leg. All, of course, the result of Toph's bending.

"Now we're even," Toph said satisfied, "Um, I'll take the belt back." She held out her hand and waited for the item to be dropped into them. Sokka - who did not like to give away his belt - sadly unhooked it from around his waist and threw the belt down. No matching belt-bag here, sorry. Where it hit Toph straight on the head, explaining her pained cry. Should I be laughing? No. Did I? Yes. Did Toph like it? Well, I think the red spot on my upper arm answers your question just fine.

* * *

 **EXTRA**

 _"I know you two are very different..." Lao said, "...but I believe you have a common interest." In front of him sat Master Yu and Xin Fu. At his last words, Servant Yogam brought in a casket. As he opened it, it shone with the force of thousands of gold pieces. Both men looked at each other._

 _"The Avatar has kidnapped both my daughters. I want you to do whatever it takes to bring them back home." Lao ordered, voice strong. Both males bowed, accepting the offer._


End file.
